This is the year of Instagramming the most unhealthy meal imaginable and immediately following that up with a snap of your sneakers in motion, sweating off those recently eaten, deep-fried kilos while jogging. Soon Fitness First will start throwing tablecloths over their treadmills so they can serve pizza to a new breed of diner who's as excited to eat as they are to exercise, but before that happens, why not quickly work off your just-devoured meal the old-fashioned way – by hitting the dancefloor.
There are a number of Sydney nightclubs that offer the thrill of doing the robot with half your dinner in your hand, dripping sauce and sweat on the DJ as you request they play something that goes better with your main course. Most of these clubs keep their kitchens open late enough for you to plan a multi-course degustation that builds with the music and peaks with dessert, which can be eaten directly off the dancefloor as you do the worm.
Belly Bao at Goodgod Small Club
When Goodgod Small Club first opened its doors in 2010, the only food on offer was toasted sandwiches, made behind the bar, the jaffle-maker sending the smell of almost-burnt cheese under the noses of club-goers who suddenly realised how badly they wanted to eat a toastie at 1am. Since then the Goodgod kitchen has been home to hot dogs, jerk chicken and, since the start of the year, Taiwanese bao – cute little steamed buns filled with braised meats, fried tofu, pickled vegies and spicy mayo. Belly Bao is Sydney's first dedicated house of bao, and their roast pork belly bao is the stuff of legend (and crackling). Lately they've been packing the place out each Thursday, the only day their incredible "bao-ger" is available – and this bao/cheeseburger hybrid is worth lining up for. Belly Bao isn't open much later than 10pm each night – but that's OK as Goodgod's entertainment starts early, with DJs and live music generally kicking off at 8pm.
55 Liverpool St, Chinatown
Goros
While weekend nights see some of Sydney's best party DJs take over the decks in this neon Japanese wonderland, Goros also offers the best entertainment in the universe: you and your friends doing late-night karaoke. Bust out the hits in one of Goros' three private rooms, with a katsu sando in one hand and a whisky highball in the other. Best of all, the kitchen is open all night, a late-night menu offering instant ramen and gyoza right up until your final rendition of Blaze of Glory.
84-86 Mary St, Surry Hills, (02) 9212 0214
The Marlborough Hotel
With live bands and DJs on the main level and the extremely fun cabaret club Tokyo Sing Song underneath, you'll need a lot of energy to last a full night out at The Marly. And they've got enough food options for every member of your posse of at least 50 people to each have a different meal. Get there before midnight to enjoy the soul food offerings of Miss Peaches, where a fried fish po'boy entree is followed by a main of okra jambalaya, and downstairs it's a more classic pub affair, The Marly kitchen staying open a bit later and cooking up enough schnitzel variations to keep you away from Istanbul on King (although it might not stop you from going there once The Marly shuts its doors).
145 King St, Newtown, (02) 9519 1222
The Oxford Tavern
It's been almost two years since the Drink & Dine group took over this once sleazy bastion of the Inner West, replacing the topless waitresses and T.A.B. facilities with metre-long hot dogs and Southern BBQ. It's also home to Rita's Late Night Lounge, a lockout free disco that keeps the dancefloor hot until 3am – which is almost enough time to try about 5 per cent of The Oxford Tavern's enormous menu, which includes the infamous "Jelly Wrestle", a mess of jellies, ice-cream, waffles and toppings that is served without forks – you eat this dessert with your hands. Bonus points if you spill cream over the DJ's turntables.
1 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham, (02) 8019 9351
Frankie's Pizza
For six bucks you can get a slice of pizza and a front row seat at a punk rock show. Frankie's is the only pizza joint in town offering New York-style slices, where the soundtrack is always loud and the live bands are always free. Its CBD digs makes it the perfect location to head to immediately after a long day at the office, where you're free to spill pizza sauce on your suit before crowdsurfing to some stoner rock.
50 Hunter St, Sydney
The Lord Gladstone
The recently re-opened Gladstone Hotel has been given a crown, and in the pub's first week as Lord, it booked some of Sydney's hip-hop elite to DJ regularly in their outdoor dance space, plus opened a restaurant serving a handful of burgers that some proclaim as Sydney's best. They also brought back a dancefloor energy bomb that had been missing since The Abercrombie closed two years ago – the deep-fried Golden Gaytime: cold, crunchy and covered in syrup, it's a dessert that's perfect for a quick Instagram before you wolf it down and hit the d-floor to burn it off.
115 Regent St, Chippendale, (02) 9310 1483
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